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G. RAOGA & W. SEWARD. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 357,502.. g Patented Feb. 8, 1887.

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MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

No. 357502. Patented FebQ'8,-1887.

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N. Perms; PhaIol-llhognphur, Washington, D. b.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

GIOVANNI RACOA, OF TURIN, ITALY, AND W'ILLIAM SEIVARD, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,502, dated February 8, 1887.

Application filed September 7, 1886. Serial No. 212,923. (No model.) Patcntedin England April 17, 188 No. 5,354.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GIOVANNI Raccii, engineer, a subject of the King of Italy, and a resident of Turin, Italy, and WILLIAM SEW- ARD, musical-instrument maker, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, and a resident of London, England, have invented new and use 'ful Improvements in Automatic or Mechanical Musical Instruments, (for which we have .10 obtained provisional protection in Great Britain, No. 5,354, bearing date April 17, 1886,) of which the following is a specification. reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to automatic or mechanical stringed musical instruments of that kind or class wherein. a perforated band or music-sheet is employed for controlling the action of the hammers upon the strings or wires.

The main object of our invention is to provide for the prolongation of the sounds produced by the vibration of the strings in proportion to the length of the perforations in the music-sheet. We effect this object by the use of means controlled by the perforated musicsheet, whereby any of the hammers may be caused to strike the corresponding string orstrings either a single blow or two or more blows in rapid succession, as hereinafter set forth.; An important feature of our said invention is the employment of an oscillating baror rail to which the hammers are connected by means of springs, so. that they will vibrate or oscillate with the said bar or rail; but the movement or action of one or more of thesaidhammers can be prevented without affecting the movement or action of the other hammers.

Another feature of our said invention is the combination, with this oscillating bar or rail and the hammers carried thereby, of means controlled by the perforated music-sheet for holding the hammers in contact with the strings, so that they will serve as dampers and for releasing the said hammers as required, according to the tune to be played.

Our said invention, moreover, comprises various improvements hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of an instrument constructed according to our invention,,some of the parts being removed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partlyin vertical longitudinal section. Fig.3 is a section on the line a: as, Fig. 1, drawn to an enlarged scale, some of the parts being removed.

Fig. 4 shows a portion of Fig. 2, drawn to a still further enlarged scale. Fig. 5 is an end elevation, partly in section, on the line 00 m, Fig. 1, drawn to the same scale as Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevation, partly invertical section, and Fig. 7 is a plan, showing a modification of our invention. Fig. Sis a similar view to Fig. 4, showing another modification of our invention.

Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

a is the case or frame of the instrument.

I) I) are the strings or wires. I

0 is the perforated music-sheet.

d d are the rollers for moving or feeding the said sheet through the instrument.

6 is a crank-handle, which is fixed upon the axle d of the roller d, and whereby the instrument is operated.

f is an oscillating bar or rail, which is supported in bearings in brachets'a, attached to the frame or case a.

g are the hammers, which are made of felt or other suitable material and are carried by springs h, secured to the bar or rail f. A convenient method or manner of securing these springs to the said bar or rail is illustrated in Fig. 4, and consists in making the said bar or rail in two parts, ff placing the springs between these parts,and firmly uniting the latter by means of screws/* Any suitable means may be employed for imparting oscillating motion to the bar or rail f,- but we prefer to use for this purpose the mechanism shown in the drawings, which is constructed as hereinafter dcscribedthat is to say:

is a spiral spring,which is attached at one end to the frame or case a and at the other end to an arm or lever, j, fixed in the bar or railf. This spring tends to hold the said bar or rail in such a position that the hammers are in contact with the springs b.

is a bracket, which is secured to the bar or rail f and which has fixed therein a pin or shaft, Z. An anti-friction roller, Z, is fitted to rotate upon the said pin or shaft Z, and bears against an eccentric, m, fixed or formed on a shaft, m, carried in bearings in the lever 91, which is pivoted at n to the frame or case a. A wheel, 0, is fixed on the axle (Z and the shaft m is held in frictional contact with the said wheel by means of a spring, 1), which is attached at one end to the frame or case a and at the other end to the arm a of the lever a. The shaft m is provided with a fiy-wheel, m". The peripheries of the wheel 0 and roller Z are by preference covered with india-rubber or other suitable material, to increase the friction between the same-rand the shaft 117/ and eccentric m.

\Vhen the wheel 0 is rotated by turning the crank-handle c, it imparts rotary motion at a high velocity to the shaft on and eccentric in. The eccentric m, acting upon the roller Z, imparts Very rapid oscillating motion to the bar or rail f, the spring 5 keeping the roller Z in contact with the said eccentric. It is evident that all the hammers 5/ will oscillate with the said bar or rail f unless their movement is prevented by any suitable means. For this purpose we provide the devices hereinafter describedthat is to say:

q q are bent levers or fingers, which are pivoted at 1* to a bar or rail, 1', secured to the frameor case a. One of these levers or fingers is arranged in combination with each hammer g. The upper ends,=q', of the said levers or fingers extend a short distance beyond the top of the bar or rail 0'. v

s s are springs, which are passed through blocks or pieces Q2 at the lower ends of the levers o'r fingers q, and which bear against pins or studs 1", fixed in the bar or rail 1. These springs tend to hold the levers or fingers in the position shown by full lines in Fig. 4.

When the music-sheet c is so placed in the instrument that an imperforated part thereof is above the ends of the levers or fingers q, the latter occupy the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, and the springs s, which are slightly bent or curved at their lower ends, keep thehammersg in contact with the springs Z), and thus prevent the movement or action of the said hammers. The said hammers when thus held serve as dampers to prevent the vibration of ,the strings. When a perforation in the music-sheet c arrives above one or other of the levers or fingers q, the corresponding spring 8 forces the said lever or finger upward, so that it projects through the said perforation, the said spring at the same time moving away from the hammer. The

said lever orifingerand its spring then occupy the position shown by full lines in Fig. 4, and the corresponding hammer g is free to participate in the oscillating movement of the bar or rail f.

By the arrangement of the parts in the manner above described we provide for keeping the hammers out of action by the application of a very slight p ressu re upon the fingers q. Therefore there will be very little friction between the said fingers and the music-sheet.

To provide for obtaining piano or forte effects at will, we employ a swell which operates by regulating theforce of the blows of the hammers upon the strings. This swell comprises a bar or rail, '6, which is connected by hingejoints t with the bar or rail 9', and is provided with a series of bent or curved fingers, l The bar or rail t is connected, by means of a rod or link, a, with a lever, 22, pivoted at c to the frame or case a, and projecting outside of the said frame or case into a convenient position to be operated by hand. When the said rail is in the position shown in full linesin Fig. 4, the fingers 15* limit the extent of the oscillations or vibrations of the hammers 9, so that the said hammers strike very feeble blows, and therefore produce a piauissimo effect. By moving the lever c in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, the loudness of the sounds produced by the instrument can be gradually increased until a fortissimo effect is obtained, the fingers t being inclined or curved, as shown, so that the oscillations or vibrations of the hammers are gradnallyincreased in extent in the said movement of the lever '0. Any other suitable swell may, if desired, be substituted for that above described.

The top part or lid, a", is connected with the case a by hinge-joints, so that it can be raised to permit the insertion of a perforated lnusicsheet into the instrument, and can then be lowered or closed and secured by a suitable catch or fastening. A bar or rail, 10, pivoted at w and acted upon by a spring, (not shown in the drawings,) holds down the music-sheet, so that the latter depresses the fingers q, and thus keeps the hammers in contact with the strings.

Theinstrument is operated as followsthat is to say: The handle 6 is rotated to simultaneously move or feed the music-sheet through the instrument and impart oscillating motion to the harm rail f. As the perforations in the musicsheet 'pass over auy of the fingers q, the said fingers are raised by their springs, as above described, and release the corresponding hammers. Each hammer, immediately itis thus released, participates in the oscillating motion of the bar or rail f and strikes the corresponding strings. The notes represented by the perforations in the music sheet are thus produced in their proper order. when a Very short perforation passes over one of the fingers q, the corresponding strings receive only one blow from the hammer; but if a perforation of greater length passes over the said finger the hammer strikes the strings two or more blows in rapid succession, according to the length of theperforation; WVe therefore obtain the great advantage over automatic or mechanical stringed musical instruments here tofore' constructed that sounds of long or short duration can be produced by our instrument. ro ln this manner a very pleasing effect can be obtained, and by using the swell, above de scribed great expression may be introduced -into the music played by the instrument.

In the modification of our invention shown r in Figs. 6 and 7 the lever 11, which carries the shaft m, is pivoted at n to the case a by means of ascrew, a passed through the said case and screwed into the lever n, a spring-washer, if, being inserted'between the head of the said screw and the case ato prevent too much freedom ofmovement of the said lever. The said lever is, moreover, bent at its extremity a, so that it projects through a slot in the case. We thus provide for putting the hammers out 2 5 of operation by withdrawing the shaft m from the wheel 0 when the playing of a tune is finished, and the rotation of the handle 6 is continued for the purpose of withdrawing the musicsheet. The spring 1), for holding the 0 shaft m in contact with the wheel 0, is in this case attached to the case a, and bears upon the free end of the lever n.

In some instances the fingers it, above described, are dispensed with, and the bar or rail 5 t is extended downward and covered with a strip, P, of felt, cloth, or other suitable material, as shown in Fig. 8.

The construction of our improved instrument may be considerably varied without de- 0 parting from the natureof our invention. For

instance, although we prefer to use the oscillating bar or rail above described, other means can be employed for operating the hammers.

inv such a manner that they will strike the 5 strings either a single blow or two or more blows in rapid succession, for the purpose above specified. Moreover, other means than those above described may be used forholding the hammers in contact with the strings and releasing them, as required; or, if desired,

suitable devices may be employed for holding the hammers away from the strings and releasing them, as required.

It is .well known that in the automatic or mechanical wind musical instruments heretofore constructed each note or .sound is prolonged in proportion 'to the length of the perforations in the music-sheet, the production-of the sound depending upon the operation of bellows and its duration depending upon the length of time a valve is kept open'by means of a lever or other device controlled by the music-sheet. By our invention we provide for obtaining asimilar effectthat is to say, a prolongation of the sounds in proportion to the length of the perforations in the musicsheetin an automatic or mechanical musical instrument wherein the sounds are produced by the vibration of strings or wires.

Our improved instrument may be of any desired size and compass, and one or more strings may be used for each note.

It is obvious that steel bars or other wellknown equivalent sounding devices may be substituted for thestrings or wires shown. "5

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we wish it understood that we are aware that a device consisting of an oscillating bar or rail having small hammers connected therewith by springs has been used for continuing or prolonging the sounds produced by the vibration of the strings of a piano-forte when struck by the large hammers usually employed in such instruments. \Ve therefore do not claim such a device, per 86, or independently of our improvements, as herein set forth; but

We claim 1. In an automatic stringed musical instrument, the combination, with a series of hammers secured to a device having continuous vibration,ofacorrespondingseriesofspring-actuated fingers by which the vibration of the hammers is checked, each finger having an attachment engaging with the music-sheet as the latter is fed through theinstrument, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the series of hammers secured to a device having continuous vibration, of spring-actuated fingers by which said hammers may be held against the strings and their vibration arrested, a perforated music-sheet engaging with the bent ends of said fingers, and means, substantially as speci- I05 fied, for'feeding said sheet and imparting vibration to the hammers, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with an oscillating bar or rail having hammers connected therewith [10 by springs, of a perforated musicsheet and means controlled thereby for holding the said hammers in contact with the strings or other sounding devices or otherwise preventing their action and releasing them as required, for the II 5 purposes specified.

at. The combination, with the series of vibrating hammers g, of the levers or fingers q, the springs s, and the perforated music-sheet, each finger (1 being provided with an extremity, I 20 *q, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the bar or rail f, the springs h, and hammers g, the levers or fingers g, provided with the springs s and controlled by the music-sheet, and means for imparting oscillating motion to the said bar or rail, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

' ,6. The combination, with the hammers g and the vibratory bar f, on which they are mounted, of the pivoted bar or rail 2, having In testimony whereof We have hereunto the strip of felt t", and the lever u, pivoted at signed our names in the presence of two subu upon the casing, substantially as described. scribing witnesses.

7. The combination, with the hammers g and means for operating the same, as above described, ofthe pivoted bar or rail t, the fingers t ,'and means for adjusting the same, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with the shaft m, of the lever a, carrying the same and pivoted at a to the case a, and the spring 19, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

GIOVANNI RAGGA. WILLIAM SEWVARD.

Witnesses to the signature of G. Racca:

' CARLO GnNzoNE, GUIsEPrE POMBA. Witnesses to the signature of W. Seward:

JNo. DEAN, T. P. OSMAN. 

